What does Kucherov need to do to surpass Ovechkin and become the greatest Russian player to ever play in the NHL?

[Filthy Dangles]

I think that kucherov is the better, more impactful player.

Ovechkin had to bear all the pressure of being a generationally touted 1st overall pick and bring a dead franchise back to life. Those early capital teams he played on were barren wastelands. At his peak was a physical freak who could will the puck into the net by himself.

Kucherov is an all-timer but a cushy situation in Tampa compared to Ovechkin, no expectations and a lot more talent around him for his whole career.

At their bests, Ovechkin was simply greater. But depending on how Kucherov ages, he could really make their careers a legitimate debate.

 

[Hoek]

Kucherov waited too long to become elite unfortunately. Ovechkin got there a lot earlier so he's got the longevity plus for those who value goals more, the peak.

 

[authentic]

If he scores another 20-30 empty net points in his career he'll pass Ovechkin

 

[ello]

Consistency, longevity and the status and burden of being a first overall pick.

With that said personally I’d take peak Kucherov for a single playoff run

 

[Frank Drebin]

Ovechkin had to bear all the pressure of being a generationally touted 1st overall pick and bring a dead franchise back to life. Those early capital teams he played on were barren wastelands. At his peak was a physical freak who could will the puck into the net by himself.

Kucherov is an all-timer but a cushy situation in Tampa compared to Ovechkin, no expectations and a lot more talent around him for his whole career.

At their bests, Ovechkin was simply greater. But depending on how Kucherov ages, he could really make their careers a legitimate debate.

Maybe it's just recency bias with kucherov but the 128 point, 144 point, 100 assist seasons are damn near mcdavid level peak for me.

Prime ovy vs this version of kucherov, it's not an easy decision anyway

 

[DistantThunderRep]

5 or 6 seasons like this one. Goals > Assists. 3 Harts and 5 nominations to 1 (potentially 2) and 2.

Those who say Kucherov is a more impactful player don't remember Ovy in his prime. He was a force of nature, scoring at will.

Yeah, even as a Tampa fan, I can't argue this. Prime Ovi is something rarely ever seen in any sport.

 

[Drake1588]

Kucherov has posted a peak as strong as any put up by all but a handful of players in league history.

Lots of stars post tremendous stretches from age 20 to 30, however. The answer is he needs to sustain that kind of excellence during the age 30-40 phase of his career. That's extremely difficult to do. Decline comes for everyone but the greats see less of a dropoff than most players.

 

[PAZ]

He won't, but what he needs to do is add to his trophy cabinet to make it a debate.

If he can win ~10 more awards consisting of some combination of the Conn Smythe, Hart, Art Ross, and Rocket... than you could at least have a discussion.

 

[AndreRoy]

Both are top-two players of their respective generations. Ovechkin hit his stride earlier upon entering the league and has had incredible luck with injuries, allowing him to put up goal-scoring numbers that few in the history of the game even approached. But Kucherov has done more to elevate his teammates and has already cemented himself as one of the greatest postseason players of all time. He’ll never have the fame that Ovi has but if I’m building a team I’m picking Kuch every time.

 

[Ted Hoffman]

Kucherov waited too long to become elite unfortunately. Ovechkin got there a lot earlier so he's got the longevity plus for those who value goals more, the peak.

That was my initial thought. Even that 4th season where he was 40-45-85 was pretty good, but by age 23 Kucherov was a total 108-126-234 in 285 games. By comparison, Ovechkin by 23 already had 219 goals and 420 points in 324 games with a 65-goal season and two 50+ goal seasons, 2 Harts and a Ross. [And then he'd tack on another 50-goal season and a Hart runner-up the following year.] And then Ovechkin kind of kept that up for ... another 12 seasons, to get within shouting distance of Gretzky's 894.

What really probably does Kucherov in though is the sheer amount of hardware Ovechkin has. 3 Harts, 3 Lindsays Pearsons, 9 Rockets? 8 1st-Team NHL All-Star nods? And then potentially taking out Gretzky's 894 mark and going over 1600 points? That's a lot to overcome, and a lot of assists and edging out Ovechkin on points probably doesn't do the trick and neither would a 2nd or even a 3rd Hart.

 

[Calicaps]

That was my initial thought. Even that 4th season where he was 40-45-85 was pretty good, but by age 23 Kucherov was a total 108-126-234 in 285 games. By comparison, Ovechkin by 23 already had 219 goals and 420 points in 324 games with a 65-goal season and two 50+ goal seasons, 2 Harts and a Ross. [And then he'd tack on another 50-goal season and a Hart runner-up the following year.] And then Ovechkin kind of kept that up for ... another 12 seasons, to get within shouting distance of Gretzky's 894.

What really probably does Kucherov in though is the sheer amount of hardware Ovechkin has. 3 Harts, 3 Lindsays Pearsons, 9 Rockets? 8 1st-Team NHL All-Star nods? And then potentially taking out Gretzky's 894 mark and going over 1600 points? That's a lot to overcome, and a lot of assists and edging out Ovechkin on points probably doesn't do the trick and neither would a 2nd or even a 3rd Hart.

Don't forget also that Ovie lost like a season and a half to work stoppages, I think before Kucherov entered the league. Ovie's amazing durability has allowed him to reach these levels despite losing those games/years, but who knows what else he'd have achieved with another 120 games in his prime years?

 

[Rschmitz]

Sweeping the awards will be tough with McDavid, Mackinnon, and Matthews in the league, but Kucherov is perfectly capable of competing for the Rocket if he decided to shoot the puck more instead of passing.

 

[stephenball]

Kucherov is one of the very best players of the last decade, he’s incredible. This is a pretty tall mountain you’re asking him to climb though. They have the same number of 100 point seasons (to be fair Kucherov is doing them now and Ovechkin did them when he was young).

Goal scoring means a lot, and while Kucherov is an elite goal scorer as well, Ovechkin has nine 50-goal seasons. To put that in perspective that’s two more than Draisaitl/Matthews/Stamkos combined. There’s being consistent, there’s being dominant, and there’s being both. Kucherov has been amazing and he is going to continue to be, I see him aging well in this league. It’s just a tough road to try to catch Ovechkin.

I think how I’d put it is that Kucherov should go down as an all time great player, something most players couldn’t dream of. But Ovechkin will go down as a legend.

 

[Dr Salt]

He just can't and isn't better

 

[WarriorofTime]

It will be very tough because he got a late start on winning awards, and he already turns 31 in June. I think he'd likely need a Jagr like 5 Art Rosses.

 

[Stammertime91]

He needs to pass Malkin first before he even goes near Ovy.

Yeah. Hopefully he can hit 350 assists in one season to be placed in the tier with Malkintzky. Until then, he isn't even comparable to the Great One 71.

 

[blueandgoldguy]

I don't think he has passed Malkin, Federov and maybe even Datsyuk given how elite his two-way game was during a low-scoring period.

 

[Gnome17]

Well lets see, Ovechkin has 17 major individual NHL awards and Kucherov has 3, so he could start there I guess?

 

[T REX]

A thread just to tear down Kuch...smdh.

No thanks. Keep this dumpster fire

 

[Zine]

Considering he’s already 30, I don’t think Kucherov can pass Ovechkin . AO’s resume is crazy.

1st team all star x 8
2nd team all star x4
Richard trophy x 9
Art Ross
Hart x 3
Ted lindsay x 3
Conn smythe
Calder

 

[flying squirrel]

Change name to McKuch, that should be a good start

 

[ViD]

I don't think he has passed Malkin, Federov and maybe even Datsyuk given how elite his two-way game was during a low-scoring period.

Passed them easily

 

[Namba 17]

3 Harts would be a good start

 

[ViD]

3 Harts would be a good start

I mean winning two against McDavid is like winning 3, tbh

 

[Norwegianoiler]

Kucherov. It's a close call, but though we'll never know how Ovechkin would have done in the same situation, Kucherov's disinterested showing in the All-Star Game decides it.